It took only a moment to realize that 2 of my 3 kids who had gone to bed healthy woke up unhealthy...with snot and LOTS of it! Yuck! We tried to proceed as normal, but the more my morning went on the more I began to feel unwell. I couldn't really put my finger on it, but the headache was finally clue enough that I should at least check my blood pressure. 157/97!! Uh oh, that can't be good. Called the doctor who of course wanted labs and to see me.
Thanks to my sweet sister-in-law who sat with all five kids over her lunch break so I could go get the labs started before my 2:50 appointment. In the meantime, the doctor said to just sit back and rest. I always chuckle to myself when the doc says that. I have a four year old, 2 three year olds, and 2 one and a half year olds all day...rest?!? But, I tried. We watched a movie and only did about 30 minutes of school. Thankfully, the labs all came back within the normal limits! Yay!! He wanted to send me to the hospital to be monitored for a bit - I declined. He wanted to start me on BP meds - I talked him into waiting until my appointment next week. I've taken them and they make me feel really sad. I'm so thankful to have a doctor who is willing to meet me in the middle without hesitation! But, upon leaving, he and the nurse practitioner both said "now you know this bed rest thing probably isn't an if but when, right?" I just pretended I didn't hear that one!
I can't go on bed rest! I have 3 babies! What would I even do?? Trying not to freak out and pray that this is just a speed bump and I will soon be back on track with a healthy pregnancy! But really, I have no clue how we would make that work...
My darling husband (with the help of our sweet son!) cooked us dinner so I could rest. As we sit down for dinner, Eden starts screaming of horrible pain in her side. I realized she felt warm so I took her temp...101...she was my healthy one of the day! Not any longer...
Here's praying tomorrow isn't nearly as eventful!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Blanket Time
In my previous post I talked about scheduling blanket time for all my kids. I wanted to try and explain this a bit for those of you who may be confused as to what this actually is. Blanket time is nothing fancy and exactly what it sounds like. The kids have small blankets (the girls actually use small foam squares because when I used to have all my daycare kids the blankets took up too much room!!) that we place on the floor and they are required to sit on this blanket for a set amount of time. I give them a quiet toy or two, maybe a couple books and/or some colors. The rules are that they are not allowed off the blanket (or square) without first asking, even if it is to get a toy that's out of reach or to go to the bathroom. If they do need to ask, it must be done in a very controlled, whisper voice. But, the whole point is for them to sit quietly and play independently. They girls do blanket time for 30-45 minutes. Blanket time was started in our home for a variety of reasons:
**we desired to teach our children to be self-controlled and know how to sit quietly for a length of time without a lot of external stimulation (i.e. In front of a movie). This way they could sit quietly if I needed to take an important phone call, had a visitor I needed to visit with, had work I needed to complete, etc.
**when Eden was first born was very convicted that I wanted her to see me cultivating daily my personal reladtionship with the Lord. I didn't want for my kids to grow up and say that I know my mom had quiet times with the Lord but she must have done it while we were sleeping because I never saw it! I want my kids to see me actively living out me faith and soaking in the Lords word! They get to watch me read my bible and listen to me practice memory verses and hear me pray. Our desire is that this will encourage and teach them how to develop their own personal walk one day. They will have had years of watching it!
**we also believe that little ones need physical boundaries. This is a big world for them and it can get very stimulating and out of control quickly and easily. We've found that setting this little boundary, a few very controlled and quiet moments, allows them to reset, take a few breaths and be able to continue on in a much more self controlled and obedient manner.
I start blanket training around 18 months or shortly before I expect the morning nap to be done. I start very small and use a lot of praise. I'm on the floor right next to my baby. The girls picked up blanket time in a matter of days and very quickly built up their time expectations. Nikolas has been a whole other experience!! When I first started with him he struggled to sit for even a minute. He is an on the go guy. We even struggle to get him to sit long enough for a meal! After several weeks he is now up to 15-20 minutes of sitting! We are still working on the being quiet part of it, but progress is evident!! He is Niko and he is uniquely made and such a blessing to our family. I have to remind myself daily that he is not one of his sisters and somethings will be more challenging with him while others will not. Our expectations remain the same, but some times it just takes longer!
Hope this makes sense. Blanket time has been such a blessing to me and in our home!
**we desired to teach our children to be self-controlled and know how to sit quietly for a length of time without a lot of external stimulation (i.e. In front of a movie). This way they could sit quietly if I needed to take an important phone call, had a visitor I needed to visit with, had work I needed to complete, etc.
**when Eden was first born was very convicted that I wanted her to see me cultivating daily my personal reladtionship with the Lord. I didn't want for my kids to grow up and say that I know my mom had quiet times with the Lord but she must have done it while we were sleeping because I never saw it! I want my kids to see me actively living out me faith and soaking in the Lords word! They get to watch me read my bible and listen to me practice memory verses and hear me pray. Our desire is that this will encourage and teach them how to develop their own personal walk one day. They will have had years of watching it!
**we also believe that little ones need physical boundaries. This is a big world for them and it can get very stimulating and out of control quickly and easily. We've found that setting this little boundary, a few very controlled and quiet moments, allows them to reset, take a few breaths and be able to continue on in a much more self controlled and obedient manner.
I start blanket training around 18 months or shortly before I expect the morning nap to be done. I start very small and use a lot of praise. I'm on the floor right next to my baby. The girls picked up blanket time in a matter of days and very quickly built up their time expectations. Nikolas has been a whole other experience!! When I first started with him he struggled to sit for even a minute. He is an on the go guy. We even struggle to get him to sit long enough for a meal! After several weeks he is now up to 15-20 minutes of sitting! We are still working on the being quiet part of it, but progress is evident!! He is Niko and he is uniquely made and such a blessing to our family. I have to remind myself daily that he is not one of his sisters and somethings will be more challenging with him while others will not. Our expectations remain the same, but some times it just takes longer!
Hope this makes sense. Blanket time has been such a blessing to me and in our home!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Schedule Written Down...
For awhile now I've been feeling like my days at home with the kids were getting more and more unstructured. Rather then being the one in control it seemed like I was just following along with whatever they had planned for the day or putting video in for them for lack of a better plan.
Proverbs 21:5 Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.
I was neither planning well or working hard (in the important areas) and I could feel it in my spirit! Dave and I talked through what I had been struggling with and he sat down with me one day and we together created a schedule of our day. It gave me a plan to follow and I knew without a doubt that I was raising our kids and investing in them in ways that were pleasing to Dave. It really helped to relieve some stress and anxiety I was dealing with!
Daily Schedule
(**at this point in our lives most days follow the exact same schedule. This will be adjusted as needed!)
7:30 Get kids up
7:45-8:30 Breakfast (this may seem like a long time, but most days our kids are really slow breakfast eaters! This works great for us, because it allows them time to visit together and for my daycare kids to arrive.)
8:30-9:00 Get kids dressed, hair combed, pj's cleaned up
9:00-9:45 Girls: Blanket time, Mom's quiet time
Babies: Nap until 10:15
9:45-10:15 Focused activity with the girls. I.E. Play-doh, board games, craft project, biking up and down the front walk, baking, sidewalk chalk, etc.
10:15-10:30 Babies up; snack time
10:30-10:45 Girls: Quiet box time**
Babies: Blanket time training
10:45-11:00 Music/Story time
11:00-11:30 Free play
11:30-12:00 Clean Up/Cartoons
12:00-12:30 Lunch
12:30-2:30 Naps for Braelyn and younger, Eden: rest time and quiet play
2:30-3:30 Free play (outside if at all possible)
3:30-3:45 Afternoon snack and Daddy home!!
**A quiet box is something I created for the girls. I needed an activity for them to do independently so I could have some focused time with the babies. Their boxes include linking rings to make necklaces, coloring book, activity book, puzzle, notebook, markers, scissors, glue stick, stickers, etc. They LOVE them and it has worked great! I'll try and do another post soon explaining blanket time. That's a whole post in and of itself!
Aside from planning my day with the kids, I planned specific chores for myself to complete each day.
Monday: Laundry (clothes)
Tuesday: Laundry (towels and linens)
Wednesday: Bathrooms
Thursday: Floors
Friday: Misc.
The biggest thing for me has been the laundry. I now get all my laundry done in two days (washed, folded and put away!!) I don't even have to think about laundry for 6 more days. I used to always feel as if it was piling up and that I was always behind. Now if the baskets are getting full I don't even give it a second thought because it will all get done on Monday!
We also created chores for our 18 year old. I was tired of nagging her to get stuff done. Now it is written down and if she doesn't complete it she gets a consequence because she can't claim she didn't know or forgot. Totally removed a struggle or nagging! Love it!
Tuesday: All garbages in the house emptied
Wednesday: Deep clean her bathroom
Thursday: Vacuum basement
Saturday: Light clean of her bathroom
Now, things do come up and I need to deviate from the schedule. I am OK with this! I tend to get a bit rigid and feel like a failure if I don't do exactly what is expected or planned, but this has been an excellent lesson in letting things go and seeing the whole picture rather then a few minute slot! It has also helped to keep the day from feeling like it is dragging on because we are changing activities every 15-30 minutes regardless of how much fun they are having. I love it!
Proverbs 21:5 Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.
I was neither planning well or working hard (in the important areas) and I could feel it in my spirit! Dave and I talked through what I had been struggling with and he sat down with me one day and we together created a schedule of our day. It gave me a plan to follow and I knew without a doubt that I was raising our kids and investing in them in ways that were pleasing to Dave. It really helped to relieve some stress and anxiety I was dealing with!
Daily Schedule
(**at this point in our lives most days follow the exact same schedule. This will be adjusted as needed!)
7:30 Get kids up
7:45-8:30 Breakfast (this may seem like a long time, but most days our kids are really slow breakfast eaters! This works great for us, because it allows them time to visit together and for my daycare kids to arrive.)
8:30-9:00 Get kids dressed, hair combed, pj's cleaned up
9:00-9:45 Girls: Blanket time, Mom's quiet time
Babies: Nap until 10:15
9:45-10:15 Focused activity with the girls. I.E. Play-doh, board games, craft project, biking up and down the front walk, baking, sidewalk chalk, etc.
10:15-10:30 Babies up; snack time
10:30-10:45 Girls: Quiet box time**
Babies: Blanket time training
10:45-11:00 Music/Story time
11:00-11:30 Free play
11:30-12:00 Clean Up/Cartoons
12:00-12:30 Lunch
12:30-2:30 Naps for Braelyn and younger, Eden: rest time and quiet play
2:30-3:30 Free play (outside if at all possible)
3:30-3:45 Afternoon snack and Daddy home!!
**A quiet box is something I created for the girls. I needed an activity for them to do independently so I could have some focused time with the babies. Their boxes include linking rings to make necklaces, coloring book, activity book, puzzle, notebook, markers, scissors, glue stick, stickers, etc. They LOVE them and it has worked great! I'll try and do another post soon explaining blanket time. That's a whole post in and of itself!
Aside from planning my day with the kids, I planned specific chores for myself to complete each day.
Monday: Laundry (clothes)
Tuesday: Laundry (towels and linens)
Wednesday: Bathrooms
Thursday: Floors
Friday: Misc.
The biggest thing for me has been the laundry. I now get all my laundry done in two days (washed, folded and put away!!) I don't even have to think about laundry for 6 more days. I used to always feel as if it was piling up and that I was always behind. Now if the baskets are getting full I don't even give it a second thought because it will all get done on Monday!
We also created chores for our 18 year old. I was tired of nagging her to get stuff done. Now it is written down and if she doesn't complete it she gets a consequence because she can't claim she didn't know or forgot. Totally removed a struggle or nagging! Love it!
Tuesday: All garbages in the house emptied
Wednesday: Deep clean her bathroom
Thursday: Vacuum basement
Saturday: Light clean of her bathroom
Now, things do come up and I need to deviate from the schedule. I am OK with this! I tend to get a bit rigid and feel like a failure if I don't do exactly what is expected or planned, but this has been an excellent lesson in letting things go and seeing the whole picture rather then a few minute slot! It has also helped to keep the day from feeling like it is dragging on because we are changing activities every 15-30 minutes regardless of how much fun they are having. I love it!
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